


Staggered

by Blake_Belladonna_Defence_Force



Series: Bumbleby Oneshots [10]
Category: RWBY
Genre: Angst, F/F, Hurt/Comfort, Self loathing/self blame, graphic depiction of injury
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-09-19
Updated: 2020-09-25
Packaged: 2021-03-08 02:41:14
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 1,538
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26538253
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Blake_Belladonna_Defence_Force/pseuds/Blake_Belladonna_Defence_Force
Summary: What if, at the fall of Beacon, things took a very different turn?A request from a tumblr user; what if Blake lost her leg instead of Yang losing her arm?
Relationships: Blake Belladonna/Yang Xiao Long
Series: Bumbleby Oneshots [10]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1926181
Comments: 20
Kudos: 230





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> If y’all are looking for another “Blake loses a leg” fic, check out this story by @DazzleYourMindsEye https://archiveofourown.org/works/23523922/chapters/56417821#workskin
> 
> It’s a great, heart wrenching fic and I highly recommend it.

The low, steady beeping of the machines in Blake’s room sounds as Yang gazed at her partner, her hands clenched tightly together. Her bow was off and her hair was a mess, tangled and knotted from fighting at the fall of Beacon. Yang sweeps her eyes across Blake’s prone body, bile rising up in her throat as she comes to a rest upon Blake’s legs… or at least… what was left of them.

Yang swallows hard and shudders as she recalls running into the cafeteria and seeing Blake on the ground, barely breathing and pale as she bled out from the gaping wound in her right thigh. Yang had nearly been sick at the sight of torn skin and muscle, severed nerves and shattered bone. 

It had taken far longer than she would have liked to get Blake to safety. But here she was, safe and sound in the hospital, even if she occasionally woke up screaming Yang’s name, eyes darting around her in terror; desperately searching the shadows for the man that had hurt her.

Adam Taurus.

Yang growls, low and dangerous in her throat. Blake’s old partner, from what she could assume. He had  _ hurt _ Blake. He had  _ taken her leg. _ He  _ terrified  _ Blake. There’s a part of Yang that wants to chase him down. Hunt him and bring him to justice. 

But she knows that wouldn’t be right. It isn’t what Blake would want and it wasn’t what  _ Yang _ wanted to turn into. It isn’t who she is and she refuses to become that person.

“Mmmn.”

“Blake! Hey, you’re okay.” Yang soothes as Blake blinks open her eyes and stares her. She brushes Blake’s bangs back from her forehead, smiling a watery smile down at her. “There she is. Hey.”

“Fuck. Adam-“

“He’s gone. We don’t know where the bastard went but he’s gone.” Yang says softly, moving to cup Blake’s jaw, her thumb brushing her cheek soothingly. “You’re safe. I’ve got you, Blake.”

“... he- he went after my- my leg.” Blake says weakly, gripping her sheets tightly. “Is it-“

“I- oh, honey. I’m so sorry.” Yang whispers, tears filling her eyes as Blake stares down at her missing leg, cat ears pressing against her head and shoulders trembling. “They couldn’t save it.”

The sob that leaves Blake’s throat is ragged and broken, and when Yang curls her arms around her, Blake clings to her desperately, crying into her neck. Yang grits her teeth and holds her tightly against her, gently soothing her and running a hand up and down her back until Blake’s tears have run dry.

“This is all my fault.” Blake says suddenly, and Yang pulls back to stare at her in bewilderment. “I should have known. I should have recognised Cinder. I should have looked into it harder. Or-  _ god.  _ If I had just stayed, maybe I could have stopped him! At least then none of you-“

“Stop. None of this is on you, Blake.” Yang says firmly, cupping Blake’s jaw and guiding her to look at her, keeping her touching gentle. Her heart breaks when Blake’s flinches, her amber eyes full with pain as she looks back at her. “You’re an  _ innocent victim, _ Blake. This isn’t your fault. You didn’t deserve this. You’re not responsible for the actions of a monster.”

“But-“

“No. Look, you can say that you never should have come here all you want. But I am so glad that you did. I’m so glad that you chose me.” Yang rests her forehead against Blake’s, chest twisting violently as Blake’s trembling hands move to grip at her wrists. “And I am so glad that you’re still here.”

A heartbreaking noise of distress rips itself free of Blake’s chest and Yang pulls her closer once more, climbing onto the bed and carefully curling her arms around Blake as her partner gasps and sobs and apologises in her arms. Yang can feel Blake’s nails dig into her skin as she clings to her desperately but she can’t bring herself to mind. Blake needs her to be strong, to hold her until she’s ready to… do whatever it is that she plans on doing next.

And Yang knows that, if Blake were willing to let her, she was going to support her. Every single step of the way.


	2. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> As Blake struggles to heal, Yang finds herself growing worried and frustrated when her partner resorts to shutting people out.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Prompt - “Is that what you’re doing? Trying to make me hate you?”
> 
> I struggled with this prompt until I remembered that I had the perfect au for it.

It was no surprise that watching Blake deal with the loss of her leg was hard. The pain she went through, the nightmares she woke up from and the way she jumped at the slightest noise had been expected as she recovered in the Xiao Long-Rose household.

What Yang hadn’t been expecting was Blake’s behaviour towards everyone. It seemed like it was every five minutes that Blake was lashing out, turning her back on them and hobbling away on her crutches to the guest bedroom. It’s unexpected and it  _ hurts.  _

But the last straw is when Blake stares blankly at the prosthetic leg that Tai brings into the house and offers her with an easy grin. The scoff that Blake lets out is so dismissive, so condescending that Yang feels like  _ she  _ had just been burned. “Yeah. Because that makes it so much better.”

Yang’s quick to follow her up to her room, her heart twisting painfully as Blake sits down with a pained grunt and glares at her. “Don’t you have anything better to do?”

“Blake… I know that you’re hurting but I need to know what your problem is.” Yang says carefully as she steps into the room and shuts the door. “We can’t help you if you don’t let us in.”

“Maybe I don’t want your help.” Blake bristles, turning away as her ears pin against her head. “I never asked you to become my babysitter. I never asked for any of this.”

“Your- What? What are you talking about?” Yang says, jaw going slack as she stares in disbelief at her partner, her jaw clenching as Blake stares stubbornly out of the window. “Is there something wrong with me wanting to take care of my friend?”

“No. But I’m sure there are better ways to spend your time than wasting it on me. I’m surprised that you don’t hate me.”

The way Blake’s voice wavers makes Yang pause, tilting her head as a worrying idea comes to mind.“Is that what you’re doing? Trying to make me hate you?” Yang asks quietly, frowning as Blake flinches, her jaw growing tight as Yang approaches her slowly. “Because let me tell you… it’s going to take a lot more than this to get there, Belladonna.”

“You should hate me.” Blake says, her voice breaking as she continues to look away from Yang. “You- Adam knows what you all mean to me. You’re all in danger.”

“Yeah, well. Getting hurt is the risk you take when you care about somebody.”

“You should’ve gone with your sister to Haven but instead you’re stuck here with  _ me.” _

“Hmm… nope. I chose to be here for you because you needed me more than Ruby does.” Yang says calmly, sitting in front of Blake on the bed and leaning on one hand to try to meet her eyes. “Ruby’s our leader. She’s more than capable of taking care of herself. Plus, she’s got Jaune, Ren and Nora. And if I know my uncle… he’s probably shadowing their group to make sure she’s okay.” Yang smiles gently as Blake’s now unbound ears flick towards her, telling her more than Blake’s words did. “You can try all you want to convince that you don’t deserve this. That I shouldn’t care about you… but that’s not going to change the face that I do.”

Blake finally turns to face her and Yang feels her breath catch in her throat at the utter  _ pain  _ in her partner’s eyes. She reaches out a hand and pauses with Blake flinches before slowly tucking a strand of hair behind her ear. She trails her fingers down to cup Blake’s jaw and leans forward to press their foreheads together. “Stop punishing yourself for the actions of a monster.”

Blake closes her eyes as a ragged noise escapes her throat and Yang quickly pulls her into her arms and holds her tightly, shushing her gently when apologies are whimpered against her neck.

“You deserve to heal, Blake. And when you’re ready to move forward… I’ll be there.”

It doesn’t happen immediately. But after a week or so, Yang’s sitting at the dinner table as her father prepares dinner when they hear footsteps. But the sharp strike of crutches and the dull thud of a footstep are followed by another, slightly more metallic sounding footstep, causing both Xiao Longs to look at each other in shock, neither one daring to hope until Blake steps into the doorway, teeth gritted as she walks… this time, with a silver prosthetic leg attached to her right thigh. She looks up at Tai and offers a shy, almost apologetic smile before looking at Yang with her ears pinned flat against her head.

“Okay.” Yang breathes as she stands up and approaches Blake, curling a hand around her hip and pressing their foreheads together. When she next speaks, her voice is tender and meant only for Blake’s ears;

_ “I’m here.” _


End file.
